Water savings, nutrient leaching, and fruit yield in a young avocado orchard as affected by irrigation and nutrient management

Kiggundu, Nicholas; Migliaccio, Kati W.; Schaffer, Bruce; Li, Yuncong; Crane, Jonathan H.

doi:10.1007/s00271-011-0280-6

Cited by 38 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Water storage has constrained both economic and agricultural development in many arid and semi-arid regions. Instead of flood irrigation, which is regarded as wasting water resources, many water-saving irrigation technologies have been developed and promoted to enhance water productivity and to reduce water use [27]. Our results indicated that intermittent irrigation could also keep suitable water amount before sowing.…”

Section: Optimal Irrigation Strategymentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Therefore, we defined WUE and combined it with salt tolerance of a specific crop (sunflower), field water capacity and total irrigation water amount to determine the optimal irrigation strategy ( Table 5). Coefficient used to evaluate water effectiveness was usually defined as the crop yield divided by total water applied if there were crop growth [27] or the ratio of the quantity of water draining past the root zone to that infiltrated into the soil's surface in salt leaching condition [38]. Our study defined WUE coefficient to reflect the coupling effects of per irrigation amount on soil water, salt, and NO 3 --N storage (Eq.…”

Section: Irrigation Strategies Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Different Irrigation Strategies on Soil Water, Salt, and Nitrate Nitrogen Transport

Zeng

et al. 2015

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S

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Abstract:Intermittent irrigation has attracted much attention as a water-saving technology in arid and semi-arid regions. For understanding the effect of intermittent irrigation on water and solute storage varied from irrigation amount per time (IRA), irrigation application frequency (IRAF), irrigation intervals (IRI) and even soil texture (ST), intermittent irrigation experiment was carried out in 33 micro-plots in Inner Mongolia, China. The experiment results were used for the calibration and validation of HYDRUS-1D software. Then 3 ST (silty clay loam, silty loam, and silty clay), 5 IRA (2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 cm), 4 IRAF (2, 3, 4, and 5 times) and 4 IRI (1, 2, 3, and 4 days) were combined and total 240 scenarios were simulated by HYDRUS-1D. Analysis of variance (ANVOA) of simulated results indicated that ST, IRA, and IRAF had significant effect on salt and nitrate nitrogen (NO3 --N) storage of 0-40 cm depth soil in intermittent irrigation while only ST affected soil water storage obviously. Furthermore, salt leaching percentage (SLP) and water use efficiency (WUE) of 0-40 cm depth were calculated and statistical prediction models for SLP were established based on the ANOVA using multiple regression analysis in each soil texture. Then constraint conditions of soil water storage (around field capacity), salt storage (smaller than 168 mg·cm -2 ), WUE (as large as possible) in 0-40 cm depth and total irrigation water amount (less than 25 cm) were proposed to find out the optimal intermittent irrigation strategies. Before sowing, the optimal irrigation strategy for silty clay loam soil was 6 cm IRA, 3 times IRAF, and 2 days IRI respectively. For silty loam and silty clay soils, IRA, IRAF, and IRI were 8 cm, 3 times, and 2 days respectively.

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Section: Optimal Irrigation Strategymentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Irrigation Strategies Determinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Different Irrigation Strategies on Soil Water, Salt, and Nitrate Nitrogen Transport

Zeng

et al. 2015

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S

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“…In order to improve water productivity and to minimise pollution, Kiggundu et al . (2012) evaluated several combined irrigation scheduling and nutrient management practices in southern Florida (25°20ʹN, 80°20ʹW; alt. 4 m).…”

Section: Irrigation Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

THE WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTS OF AVOCADO (Persea americana Mill.): A REVIEW

Carr

2013

Ex. Agric.

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The results of research on the water relations and irrigation need of avocado are collated and reviewed in an attempt to link fundamental studies on crop physiology to irrigation practices. Background information is given on the centre of origin (Mexico and Central America) and the three distinct ecological areas where avocados are grown commercially: (1) Cool, semi-arid climates with winter-dominant rainfall (e.g. Southern California, Chile, Israel); (2) Humid, subtropical climates with summer-dominant rainfall (e.g. eastern Australia, Mexico, South Africa); and (3) Tropical or semi-tropical climates also with summerdominant rainfall (e.g. Brazil, Florida and Indonesia). Most of the research reported has been done in Australia, California, Israel and South Africa. There are three ecological races that are given varietal status within the species: Persea americana var. drymifolia (Mexican race), P. americana var. guatemalensis (Guatemalan race) and P. americana var. americana (Antillean, West Indian or Lowland race). Interracial crossing has taken place. This paper summarises the effects of water deficits on the development processes of the crop and then reviews plant-water relations, crop water requirements, water productivity and irrigation systems. Shoot growth in mature trees is synchronised into flushes. Flower initiation occurs in the autumn, with flowering in late winter and spring. Flowers form on the ends of the branches. A large heavily flowering tree may have over a million flowers, but only produce 200-300 fruits. Fruit load adjustment occurs by shedding during the first three to four weeks after fruit set and again in early summer. Water deficits during critical stages of fruit ontogeny have been linked to fruit disorders such as ring-neck. Reproductive growth is very resistant to water stress (compared with vegetative growth). Avocado is conventionally considered to be shallow rooted, although roots extend to depths greater than 1.5 m. The majority of feeder roots are found in the top 0.60 m of soil and root extension can continue throughout the year. Leaves develop a waxy cuticle on both surfaces, which is interrupted by stomata on the abaxial surface (350-510 mm −2 ), many of which are blocked by wax. Stomata are also present on the sepals and petals at low densities (and on young fruit). During flowering, the canopy surface area available for water loss is considerably increased. Stomatal closure is an early indicator of water stress, which together with associated changes in leaf anatomy, restricts CO 2 diffusion. There have only been a few attempts to measure the actual water use of avocado trees. In Mediterranean-type climates, peak rates of water use (in summer) appear to be between 3 and 5 mm d −1 . For mature trees, the crop coefficient (K c ) is usually within the range 0.4-0.6. The best estimate of water productivity is between 1 and 2 kg fruit m −3 . Soil flooding and the resultant reduction in oxygen level can damage roots even in the absence of root rot. Avocado is particularly sensiti...

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“…However, these production systems require more water use, yet agricultural water use faces competition from other sectors like municipal, industrial, and ecological [8] activities. Although smart irrigation water saving technologies (rain sensor, soil water sensor and evapotranspiration controller) [9][10][11] have been developed, Uganda's agriculture is dominated by small and medium scale farmers with national average land holding sizes of 1.1 ha [12]. These farmers cannot afford the investment and maintenance costs of systems such as smart irrigation equipment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of FAO AquaCrop Model for Simulating Rainfed Maize Growth and Yields in Uganda

Mibulo

Kiggundu

2018

Agronomy

Self Cite

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Uganda’s agriculture is mainly rainfed. While farmers make efforts to increase food output to respond to the demands of a fast growing population, they are vulnerable to losses attributed to fluctuating weather patterns due to the global climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to explore ways of improving production in rainfed agricultural systems to save farmers labour and input costs in situations where the grain harvest would be zero due to crop failure. In this study, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) AquaCrop model was evaluated for its predictability potential of maize growth and yields. The study was conducted at Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK) in Uganda for three seasons. Maize growth and yield data was collected during the following seasons: Season 1, September to December 2014; Season 2, March to July 2015; and Season 3, September to December 2015. The model was calibrated using season 1 canopy cover data. The relative errors of simulated canopy cover ranged from −0.3% to −13.58% for different stages of the crop growth. The deviation of the simulated final biomass from measured data for the three seasons ranged from −15.4% to 11.6%, while the deviation of the final yield ranged from −2.8 to 2.0. These results suggest that FAO AquaCrop can be used in the prediction of rainfed agricultural outputs, and hence, has greater potential to guide management practices towards increasing food production.

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Water savings, nutrient leaching, and fruit yield in a young avocado orchard as affected by irrigation and nutrient management

Cited by 38 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of Different Irrigation Strategies on Soil Water, Salt, and Nitrate Nitrogen Transport

Effects of Different Irrigation Strategies on Soil Water, Salt, and Nitrate Nitrogen Transport

THE WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTS OF AVOCADO (Persea americana Mill.): A REVIEW

Evaluation of FAO AquaCrop Model for Simulating Rainfed Maize Growth and Yields in Uganda

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